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The Spectre
Saving this man is a waste of time. He would have been welcomed into God's kingdom, reunited with his father. While here in Italy, a boy rides his bike through the night and is struck dead by the driver. The murderer has been arrested, but that is not enough. He must feel his insides pop open as the boy's did. His rotten soul must be crushed like the boy's skull. The killer will taste the vengeance of the Spectre! '' History In The Beginning In the beginning, there was the Presence, the One Above All. Such was the Presence's nature that His aspects had names and identities of their own. At His direction, certain of these aspects were charged with certain functions and duties. Among them were His Wrath, called Eclipso, His Mercy, called the Radiant, and His Vengeance, called the '''Spectre'. Three seconds after creation, there was a rebellion in Paradise. A rebel band of angels led by Lucifer Morningstar attempted to wrest control of Heaven from the Presence. As punishment, they were cast down into Hell, where they became the beings that mortal men knew as demons. In time, one of the demons, a creature called Aztar, came to repent his rebellion, seeking forgiveness from the Presence; legend in Hell has it that he was a prince among the damned. Aztar came before the gates of Heaven, where he was met by the archangel Michael. He prostrated himself before Michael, acknowledging his wrong-doing and his responsibility for what he had done, offering himself up to whatever punishment the Presence chose to impose. The Presence's judgment on Aztar was that he would become a vessel for an aspect of the Divine - the Divine Wrath. Aztar's memory and consciousness would be wiped from existence. Aztar accepted with regret, hoping that some fragment of what he once was would be allowed to remain. The Wrath of God entered into Aztar, burning away everything he had been, transfiguring the remnants of his form into the Spectre Force. Perhaps Aztar's wish was heard; millennia later, Jim Corrigan, the Spectre's then-host, saw a vision of Aztar's transformation, buried deep in the Spectre's core. This Primal-Spectre was the one who punished Cain for the murder of his brother Abel, laying a mark upon Cain lest any should kill him. For that, Cain sought revenge on the Spectre, and through him, on the Presence. When Eclipso fell to evil, it was the Primal-Spectre's duty to deliver punishment. The Primal-Spectre stripped Eclipso of his rank and privileges and tore him asunder, with Eclipso's power imprisoned in the black diamond known as the Heart of Darkness. It was the Primal-Spectre, the Spectre Force, that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, that humbled the Pharaoh and killed the first-born of Egypt. The Divine Wrath was the blast that brought down the walls of Jericho and stopped the sun in its tracks. For centuries the Wrath of God punished and humbled mankind, until the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. At that instant, the Divine Wrath was cast into Limbo, for God's vengeance and forgiveness could not walk the same plane together. When Jesus died on the cross, the Divine Wrath was released from his exile and sought vengeance on mankind for the death of Christ. He was interrupted by the archangel Michael, who informed the Divine Wrath that due to the example of Christ, all aspects of God were now to be bound to human souls, as decreed by God himself. The Wrath resisted, struggling mightily, but Michael would not be denied, and was able to force the Wrath to yield. He then sought out the soul of a person who thirsted for swift, vengeful justice. In India, a man called Chakara and his family were slain by the witch Lady Beltane. In the limbo between planes of reality, Chakara cried for justice. The archangel Michael appeared to him in the form of the goddess Kali. Michael asked Chakara if he would be willing to bargain his soul's rest for the chance to avenge his family's death. Chakara agreed, and his soul mixed with the essence of the Divine Wrath. Thus, Chakara became the first true Spectre, a killing ghost that sought justice and enlightenment. Chakara was unaware of the Spectre Force's true origin as a divine entity; he believed he was a human soul who had been granted divine power. Eventually Chakara would turn from his mission, seduced by a demon. As punishment, he was stripped of the Spectre Force and bound to the demon who had seduced him, becoming Azmodus, who swore revenge on all later Spectres. Over the centuries, there were many who joined with the Divine Wrath to become the Spectre, chosen from those who had met unjust deaths, and sought vengeance. Like Chakara before them, none of the Spectres were aware the Divine Wrath was a separate entity in its own right, believing that they had been granted the power to exact vengeance. None of these earlier Spectres operated in the public eye, and none gained world-wide recognition. Powers and Abilities Powers *'Nigh'-'Omnipotence'/'Divine Wrath': As a servant of God, The Spectre is granted limitless power, being capable of nearly any feat within his imagination. The Spectre is said to be the most powerful, being second to only one. *'Reality Alteration': The Spectre is capable of warping and controlling reality. He can use his ability to control reality to simulate any form of superpower or ability from shapeshifting to warping time and space. *'Nigh-Omniscience': As a divine agent, the Spectre has access to virtually all of the knowledge in the universe and is even aware of events that have been altered by distortions in time. *'Immortality' Abilities *'Occultism': The Spectre is knowledgeable of the occult, the history of various occult-related rituals and demonology. *'Intimidation': Less a skill than an application of his powers, the Spectre excels at being able to intimidate and frighten his adversaries. This is usually done through showy spectacles such as assuming a monstrous appearance, growing in size, projecting a loud, booming voice, etc. *'The Logoz:' The inner aspect that is the Spectre's direct channel to God. Strength level Near-limitless; the Spectre was able to sink Atlantis simply by stepping on it. Weaknesses *'Sufficiently Powerful Magic': The Spectre can be injured or even slain by sufficient magic force, most notably the Spear of Destiny or a fully empowered Eclipso. *'Divine Limitations': The Presence can impose limits on what the Spectre is able to do, as it did in binding the Spectre to a mortal host. *'Divine Law': There are certain boundaries even the Spectre must not cross. If it does, it faces the punishment of the Presence. When the Spectre killed Nabu, it drew the Presence's attention, and was recalled. *'Psychologically induced limitations': The Spectre is one of the most powerful magical forces in existence, but his power is dependent on his host for guidance. In the case of when the Spectre created a human form for Jim Corrigan, Corrigan wanted to rejoin humanity and unconsciously divided his power. This led to a situation in that if the two where not rejoined within 48 hours, Corrigan's spirit would have perished and the Spectre would have been left without a host. Category:Entities Category:Male characters Category:Justice Bringers Category:Neutral Comics